US20100246170A1 - Light guiding structure for connector - Google Patents
Light guiding structure for connector Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20100246170A1 US20100246170A1 US12/411,573 US41157309A US2010246170A1 US 20100246170 A1 US20100246170 A1 US 20100246170A1 US 41157309 A US41157309 A US 41157309A US 2010246170 A1 US2010246170 A1 US 2010246170A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- light
- guiding
- light guiding
- posts
- connector
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
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Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/0001—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings specially adapted for lighting devices or systems
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
- G02B6/42—Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
- G02B6/4201—Packages, e.g. shape, construction, internal or external details
- G02B6/4274—Electrical aspects
- G02B6/4277—Protection against electromagnetic interference [EMI], e.g. shielding means
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/0001—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings specially adapted for lighting devices or systems
- G02B6/0011—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings specially adapted for lighting devices or systems the light guides being planar or of plate-like form
- G02B6/0013—Means for improving the coupling-in of light from the light source into the light guide
- G02B6/0023—Means for improving the coupling-in of light from the light source into the light guide provided by one optical element, or plurality thereof, placed between the light guide and the light source, or around the light source
- G02B6/0031—Reflecting element, sheet or layer
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
- H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
- H01R13/66—Structural association with built-in electrical component
- H01R13/717—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in light source
- H01R13/7172—Conduits for light transmission
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a light guiding structure for connector, and more particularly to a light guiding structure having light guiding posts enclosed in a shielding unit, so that light beams can stably and exactly propagate in the light guiding posts without light loss and mutual interference to cause error determination by a user.
- a conventional light-guiding unit 5 for connector includes more than one light guiding post 51 .
- Each of the light guiding posts 51 is made of a light transmitting material.
- the light guiding posts 51 are made of a light transmitting material, when the light beam emitted from a light-emitting element 6 corresponding to a first one of the light guiding posts 51 , either a left one or a right one, enters the light guiding post 51 , the light beam is subject to light loss when propagating along a path defined in the light guiding post 51 . Part of the lost light beam is received by the second light guiding post 51 that does not receive a light beam from a light source thereof. That is, the second light guiding post 51 is interfered by the light beam propagating in the first light guiding post 51 .
- both of the two light guiding posts 51 are lightened at their light-output end, which will cause error determination by a user using the connector.
- the two light guiding posts 51 on the light-guiding unit 5 guide light beams at the same time, light beams from the two light-emitting elements 6 separately corresponding to the two light guiding posts 51 are also subject to light loss during propagating in the light guiding posts 51 , so that the two light guiding posts 51 mutually interfere with each other. Under this situation, light beams could not be stably and exactly guided to the light-output ends of the two light guiding posts 51 , and only a relatively weak light can be seen at the light-output ends. Therefore, the light-guiding unit 5 fails to perform its light guiding function in practical use thereof.
- a primary object of the present invention is to provide a light guiding structure being mounted to a connector case for stably and exactly guiding light beams to light-input ends of two light guiding posts without light loss and mutual interference, so that error determination by a user can be avoided.
- the light guiding structure for connector includes a light-guiding unit having more than one light guiding post, and each of the light guiding posts having a light-input end and a light-output end; and a shielding unit enclosing an outer side of the light guiding posts.
- the light guiding structure When the light guiding structure is mounted on a connector case for guiding light, light beams propagating in different light guiding posts are isolated from one another by the shielding unit. Therefore, light beams can be stably and exactly guided by the light guiding posts without light loss and mutual interference to cause error determination by a user.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a light guiding structure for connector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the circled area “A” of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first example of using the light guiding structure of the present invention.
- FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a light beam emitted from a light source propagates forward in the light guiding structure of the present invention
- FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing light beams from two different light sources propagate forward in the light guiding structure of the present invention
- FIG. 6 is an assembled perspective view showing a second example of using the light guiding structure of the present invention.
- FIG. 7 is an assembled perspective view showing a third example of using the light guiding structure of the present invention.
- FIG. 8 shows a light beam propagates in a conventional light-guiding unit
- FIG. 9 shows two light beams propagate in a conventional light-guiding unit.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a light guiding structure for connector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 2 that is an enlarged sectional view of the circled area “A” of FIG. 1
- the light guiding structure for connector according to the present invention includes at least a light-guiding unit 1 and a shielding unit 2 .
- the light-guiding unit 1 each includes more than one light guiding post 11 .
- the light-guiding unit leach includes two light guiding posts 11 arranged side-by-side.
- Each of the light guiding posts 11 has a light-input end 111 and a light-output end 112 .
- a locking section 12 is provided on a lower side of the light-guiding unit 1 at a predetermined position.
- the shielding unit 2 encloses an outer side of the light guiding posts 11 of the light-guiding unit 1 , and includes at least a reflecting layer 21 directly covering the outer side of each of the light guide posts 11 and a light-absorbing layer 22 formed on the reflecting layer 21 .
- the reflecting layer 21 can be formed of an aluminum material or a silver material; and the light-absorbing layer 22 can be a layer of colored paint.
- FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first example of using the light guiding structure of the present invention.
- Different numbers of light guiding structure of the present invention can be mounted to differently sized connector case.
- FIG. 6 shows a second example of using the light guiding structure of the present invention to guide light, in which two light-guiding units 1 are mounted on an connector case 3 a providing two sockets;
- FIG. 7 shows a third example of using the light guiding structure of the present invention to guide light, in which four light-guiding units 1 are mounted on an connector case 3 b providing four sockets.
- more than four light-guiding units 1 can be used with other large-sized connector case (not shown).
- a light beam emitted from a light-emitting element 4 provided on that light guiding post 11 enters the light guiding post 11 via the light-input end 111 thereof and is guided by the light guiding post 11 to exit from the light-out end 112 of the light guiding posit 11 .
- the light beam from the light-emitting element 4 entering the light guiding post 11 via the light-input end 111 is reflected within the light guiding post 11 by the reflecting layer 21 and sealed in the light guiding post 11 by the light-absorbing layer 22 , so that the input light beam propagates forward along a path defined in the light guiding post 11 and finally exits the light guiding post 11 at the light-output end 112 . That is, with the shielding unit 2 provided outside the light-guiding unit 1 , light beam emitted from the light-emitting element 4 and propagating in the light guiding post 11 is prevented from light loss during propagation. Therefore, the light beam can be stably and exactly guided to the light-output end 112 without interfering with the other light guiding post 11 to cause error determination by a user.
- both of the two light guiding posts 11 in the light-guiding unit 1 are used to guide light beams, as shown in FIG. 5 , light beams from two light-emitting elements 4 separately provided on the two light guiding posts 11 enter the corresponding light guiding posts 11 via the light-input end 111 thereof.
- the light beam entering each of the two light guiding posts 11 is reflected within the light guiding post 11 by the reflecting layer 21 and sealed in the light guiding post 11 by the light-absorbing layer 22 , so that the input light beam propagates forward along a path defined in the light guiding post 11 and finally exits the light guiding post 11 at the light-output end 112 thereof.
- the shielding unit 2 provided outside the light-guiding unit 1 , light beams emitted from the two light-emitting elements 4 and propagating in the two light guiding posts 11 are prevented from light loss and mutual interference with each other while propagating in the light guiding posts 11 . Therefore, the light beams can be stably and exactly guided to the light-output ends 112 .
- the light guiding structure for connector according to the present invention is novel and improved because the light beams propagating in the light guiding posts are isolated from one another by the shielding layer without light loss or mutual interference. Therefore, light beams can be stably and exactly guided by the light guiding posts to avoid error determination by a user. It is expected products derived from the present invention can meet the demands in the market.
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- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Optics & Photonics (AREA)
- Electromagnetism (AREA)
- Optical Couplings Of Light Guides (AREA)
- Endoscopes (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to a light guiding structure for connector, and more particularly to a light guiding structure having light guiding posts enclosed in a shielding unit, so that light beams can stably and exactly propagate in the light guiding posts without light loss and mutual interference to cause error determination by a user.
- As can be seen from
FIGS. 8 and 9 , a conventional light-guidingunit 5 for connector includes more than onelight guiding post 51. Each of the light guidingposts 51 is made of a light transmitting material. When the light-guidingunit 5 is mounted to a connector case, light beam from a light source can be guided by thelight guiding post 51 to a light-output end thereof. - Since the light guiding
posts 51 are made of a light transmitting material, when the light beam emitted from a light-emittingelement 6 corresponding to a first one of the light guidingposts 51, either a left one or a right one, enters thelight guiding post 51, the light beam is subject to light loss when propagating along a path defined in thelight guiding post 51. Part of the lost light beam is received by the secondlight guiding post 51 that does not receive a light beam from a light source thereof. That is, the secondlight guiding post 51 is interfered by the light beam propagating in the firstlight guiding post 51. As a result, both of the two light guidingposts 51 are lightened at their light-output end, which will cause error determination by a user using the connector. On the other hand, when the two light guidingposts 51 on the light-guidingunit 5 guide light beams at the same time, light beams from the two light-emittingelements 6 separately corresponding to the two light guidingposts 51 are also subject to light loss during propagating in the light guidingposts 51, so that the two light guidingposts 51 mutually interfere with each other. Under this situation, light beams could not be stably and exactly guided to the light-output ends of the two light guidingposts 51, and only a relatively weak light can be seen at the light-output ends. Therefore, the light-guidingunit 5 fails to perform its light guiding function in practical use thereof. - It is therefore desirable to develop a light guiding structure for connector that can stably and exactly guide light beams to avoid possible error determination by a user due to weak light shown at the light guiding posts.
- A primary object of the present invention is to provide a light guiding structure being mounted to a connector case for stably and exactly guiding light beams to light-input ends of two light guiding posts without light loss and mutual interference, so that error determination by a user can be avoided.
- To achieve the above and other objects, the light guiding structure for connector according to the present invention includes a light-guiding unit having more than one light guiding post, and each of the light guiding posts having a light-input end and a light-output end; and a shielding unit enclosing an outer side of the light guiding posts.
- When the light guiding structure is mounted on a connector case for guiding light, light beams propagating in different light guiding posts are isolated from one another by the shielding unit. Therefore, light beams can be stably and exactly guided by the light guiding posts without light loss and mutual interference to cause error determination by a user.
- The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a light guiding structure for connector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the circled area “A” ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first example of using the light guiding structure of the present invention; -
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a light beam emitted from a light source propagates forward in the light guiding structure of the present invention; -
FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing light beams from two different light sources propagate forward in the light guiding structure of the present invention; -
FIG. 6 is an assembled perspective view showing a second example of using the light guiding structure of the present invention; -
FIG. 7 is an assembled perspective view showing a third example of using the light guiding structure of the present invention; -
FIG. 8 shows a light beam propagates in a conventional light-guiding unit; and -
FIG. 9 shows two light beams propagate in a conventional light-guiding unit. - Please refer to
FIG. 1 that is a perspective view of a light guiding structure for connector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and toFIG. 2 that is an enlarged sectional view of the circled area “A” ofFIG. 1 . As shown, the light guiding structure for connector according to the present invention includes at least a light-guidingunit 1 and ashielding unit 2. - The light-guiding
unit 1 each includes more than onelight guiding post 11. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the light-guiding unit leach includes two light guidingposts 11 arranged side-by-side. Each of the light guidingposts 11 has a light-input end 111 and a light-output end 112. And, alocking section 12 is provided on a lower side of the light-guidingunit 1 at a predetermined position. - The
shielding unit 2 encloses an outer side of the light guidingposts 11 of the light-guidingunit 1, and includes at least a reflectinglayer 21 directly covering the outer side of each of thelight guide posts 11 and a light-absorbinglayer 22 formed on the reflectinglayer 21. In the present invention, the reflectinglayer 21 can be formed of an aluminum material or a silver material; and the light-absorbinglayer 22 can be a layer of colored paint. -
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first example of using the light guiding structure of the present invention. As shown, there is one single light-guidingunit 1 mounted to anconnector case 3 with thelocking section 12 of the light-guidingunit 1 locked to theconnector case 3, so as to guide light beams through the light guidingposts 11. Different numbers of light guiding structure of the present invention can be mounted to differently sized connector case.FIG. 6 shows a second example of using the light guiding structure of the present invention to guide light, in which two light-guidingunits 1 are mounted on anconnector case 3 a providing two sockets; andFIG. 7 shows a third example of using the light guiding structure of the present invention to guide light, in which four light-guidingunits 1 are mounted on anconnector case 3 b providing four sockets. Of course, more than four light-guidingunits 1 can be used with other large-sized connector case (not shown). - When only one of the two light guiding
posts 11, either the left or the right one, in the light-guidingunit 1 is used to guide light, as shown inFIG. 4 , a light beam emitted from a light-emittingelement 4 provided on thatlight guiding post 11 enters thelight guiding post 11 via the light-input end 111 thereof and is guided by thelight guiding post 11 to exit from the light-outend 112 of thelight guiding posit 11. Since thelight guiding post 11 is enclosed in theshielding unit 2, the light beam from the light-emittingelement 4 entering thelight guiding post 11 via the light-input end 111 is reflected within thelight guiding post 11 by the reflectinglayer 21 and sealed in thelight guiding post 11 by the light-absorbinglayer 22, so that the input light beam propagates forward along a path defined in thelight guiding post 11 and finally exits thelight guiding post 11 at the light-output end 112. That is, with theshielding unit 2 provided outside the light-guidingunit 1, light beam emitted from the light-emittingelement 4 and propagating in thelight guiding post 11 is prevented from light loss during propagation. Therefore, the light beam can be stably and exactly guided to the light-output end 112 without interfering with the otherlight guiding post 11 to cause error determination by a user. - In the case both of the two light guiding
posts 11 in the light-guidingunit 1 are used to guide light beams, as shown inFIG. 5 , light beams from two light-emitting elements 4 separately provided on the two light guidingposts 11 enter the correspondinglight guiding posts 11 via the light-input end 111 thereof. The light beam entering each of the two light guidingposts 11 is reflected within thelight guiding post 11 by the reflectinglayer 21 and sealed in thelight guiding post 11 by the light-absorbinglayer 22, so that the input light beam propagates forward along a path defined in thelight guiding post 11 and finally exits thelight guiding post 11 at the light-output end 112 thereof. That is, with theshielding unit 2 provided outside the light-guidingunit 1, light beams emitted from the two light-emittingelements 4 and propagating in the two light guidingposts 11 are prevented from light loss and mutual interference with each other while propagating in the light guidingposts 11. Therefore, the light beams can be stably and exactly guided to the light-output ends 112. - With the above arrangements, the light guiding structure for connector according to the present invention is novel and improved because the light beams propagating in the light guiding posts are isolated from one another by the shielding layer without light loss or mutual interference. Therefore, light beams can be stably and exactly guided by the light guiding posts to avoid error determination by a user. It is expected products derived from the present invention can meet the demands in the market.
- The present invention has been described with some preferred embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
Claims (3)
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US12/411,573 US7891855B2 (en) | 2009-03-26 | 2009-03-26 | Light guiding structure for connector |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US12/411,573 US7891855B2 (en) | 2009-03-26 | 2009-03-26 | Light guiding structure for connector |
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US20100246170A1 true US20100246170A1 (en) | 2010-09-30 |
US7891855B2 US7891855B2 (en) | 2011-02-22 |
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US12/411,573 Active 2029-08-07 US7891855B2 (en) | 2009-03-26 | 2009-03-26 | Light guiding structure for connector |
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Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20160266297A1 (en) * | 2013-10-25 | 2016-09-15 | Philips Lighting Holding B.V. | Light emitting device |
US11500145B2 (en) | 2017-07-18 | 2022-11-15 | Koninklijke Philips N.V. | Light guides with coating for use in water |
Families Citing this family (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
ITTO20120707A1 (en) * | 2012-08-06 | 2014-02-07 | Magneti Marelli Spa | IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURE TO OBTAIN A LIGHT-GUIDING DEVICE TO LIGHT UP A PLURALITY OF INDICATORS IN A CONTROL PANEL, AND A GUIDE-LIGHT DEVICE ACCORDING TO THIS PROCEDURE |
US10139543B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2018-11-27 | Netscout Systems, Inc. | Light pipe array assembly for a blade server |
DE102018125121A1 (en) * | 2018-10-11 | 2020-04-16 | Harting Electric Gmbh & Co. Kg | Connectors |
EP3663641A1 (en) * | 2018-12-07 | 2020-06-10 | Marelli Automotive Lighting Italy S.p.A. | Vehicle lighting and/or signalling device |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5327328A (en) * | 1993-05-28 | 1994-07-05 | Dialight Corporation | Lightpipe and lightpipe array for redirecting light from a surface mount led |
US7329034B2 (en) * | 2003-03-05 | 2008-02-12 | Dialight Corporation | Multi-level surface mounted lightpipe package design with LED light sources |
-
2009
- 2009-03-26 US US12/411,573 patent/US7891855B2/en active Active
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5327328A (en) * | 1993-05-28 | 1994-07-05 | Dialight Corporation | Lightpipe and lightpipe array for redirecting light from a surface mount led |
US7329034B2 (en) * | 2003-03-05 | 2008-02-12 | Dialight Corporation | Multi-level surface mounted lightpipe package design with LED light sources |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20160266297A1 (en) * | 2013-10-25 | 2016-09-15 | Philips Lighting Holding B.V. | Light emitting device |
US10012779B2 (en) * | 2013-10-25 | 2018-07-03 | Philips Lighting Holding B.V. | Light emitting device |
US11500145B2 (en) | 2017-07-18 | 2022-11-15 | Koninklijke Philips N.V. | Light guides with coating for use in water |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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US7891855B2 (en) | 2011-02-22 |
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